


Cold Waters

by incenseandteacups



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M, M/M, Merman!AU, Merman!Eren, Multi, merman!jean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-30
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-03-26 11:11:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3848782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/incenseandteacups/pseuds/incenseandteacups
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean is mated to the tropical merman Eren, warm and colorful, and of course protector of humans. He himself is commonly known as a frozen, those mercreatures that live in cold, dark waters and hunt humans or others of their kind on a regular basis. They're already an unusual pair, but their lives become even stranger when Eren saves Marco, a gentle human boy, from drowning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just kinda wrote this out, didn't edit or anything, but hopefully a few more chapters will follow and be written a little better. Gotta get one from Marco's POV for sure, see what he thinks of this shit. Also porn. I'm feeling the need to write some hot merman porn. 
> 
> (Also, what did Marco do to get in trouble on land? Who knows! Seriously, who knows? I don't.)

Most often, our people don't mix. So the fact that I'm partnered with a tropical is...well, very unusual. 

 

My tail is a bluish-black, speckled with shining silver spots that glow in deeper waters. The dark scales trail away at my jawline, trails of them on my cheeks. Thin fangs slide smoothly out of their places and back, as I open my jaws to taste the water. I'm a little too close to the surface for my comfort, the waters here warm and smothering. But Eren lives here, and it's my turn to visit his home - and, as he often reminds me, I can't hunt like I would otherwise. 

 

Too bad, really...there's human blood in the water, tantalizing and unavailable for my pursuit. But...it's too close. My eyes open, and I know the luminescent golden irises and slitted pupils would be eerie for any tropical besides the one that floats in front of me. 

 

He really is gorgeous. Long and wide, all bright colors to match the reefs and fish he lives among. Emerald eyes and warm, brown skin. He's holding in his arms a human - my eyes narrow. The boy is unconscious, slightly larger than Eren himself, if it wasn't for the tail. A wound on his head lets cloudy blood into the water, a faint trail of bubbles from his mouth. "What is that?"

 

He looks panicked, and I wonder if he realizes that the human is going to die soon, if he keeps it underwater like this. "I found it sinking, at the surface! What do I do? I'm can't take it back to shore, the other humans will see m-" He breaks off when the human jerks awake, a long stream of bubbles from his mouth. I raise an eyebrow - normally, I wouldn't mind drowning and feeding on a human that smells as delicious as this one. But there's no doubt Eren would be inconsolable. 

 

"Eren." He looks up at me, seeming a bit distracted by the boy clawing desperately at his arms to try and get away, to the surface and the air that humans need so dearly. "He's drowning." 

 

Eren's eyes pop open, and without hesitating he lowers his head, pressing his lips to the human's. It's almost amusing, that I - a frozen, a type of mercreature that regularly kills humans - know more than a tropical, the ones that are supposedly protectors of the feeble things. But at least he knows what a tropical's kiss will do to a human. 

 

The boy coughs, takes a terrified inhale, and continues to breathe in a sort of bewildered way. After a few moments, he tries to speak, eyes flickering back and forth between the two mercreatures surrounding him. I grin, and see him flinch closer to Eren at the sight of my teeth. Cute. 

 

"Who...where am I...?" He begins, still gasping softly for air, and his eyes trail upwards. They round out, dark and pretty. His body is rigid. 

 

Eren smiles, and it's the warm smile that made me like tropic waters. "I'm Eren, and this is Jean." He begins, giving me a reprimanding stare before returning his soft look to the human boy. I huff. "We won't hurt you. Do you have a name?" The boy hesitates. 

 

"I'm...I'm Marco. Why...how did I get here?" He seems to open up a little more, with Eren using all his tropical charms. They're the most closely related to Sirens, and I myself am finding myself a little enchanted by the aura he's letting out. I hate when he does this. 

 

"You were...drowning, I suppose. How did you get this wound?" He trails a hand over Marco's forehead, fingers sliding like silk over the injury, and Marco shivers. I feel a slight tinge of annoyance, long, snakelike tail shifting below me with disease. "We can return you to the human shores after dark." 

 

Marco's eyes widen. "I can't...I mean..." He stops, looks as though he's trying to clear his head. "I can't stay on that island anymore. The others will hurt me, or...or worse, if they find me." Eren looks concerned. He's always been a bit naive; tropicals don't often lie, and even if they did he's naturally a very trusting person. I move a little closer, the motion smooth with several thick twirls of a serpentine tail.

 

"Eren, why don't I escort our new...guest, to the cave. You need to hunt a little more before the sun goes down, don't you? I know you have trouble seeing at night." Eren looks hesitant, and Marco downright alarmed. "C'mon, love. I won't hurt him." 

 

Finally, he slides the human into my arms, giving me a soft glare and muttering a warning. "You be nice to him, Jean. Or I'll make you stay here the entire summer." The idea of staying in these boiling waters during the summer is...ugh. 

 

Then, with the barest hint of a grin, he leans forward, whispers into my ear with a rush of warmth, "And quit trying to act all fucking cool." I pull back, giving an affronted smile. 

 

"I am cool, thanks." With a glance down at Marco, I see he's looking a bit exhausted again, watching us with eyes that are a little clouded over, but caught on every movement. He shifts uncomfortably when Eren swims away, and I wonder if perhaps the tropical charms are wearing off. The frozen mercreatures are built to inspire rather...different, feelings, in a human.

 

I turn, swimming downwards, and he seems to tense when the water dims. "Where...where are we going?" He croaks, and I can hear the mixed worries in his tone. Under normal circumstances, this depth would kill a human. 

 

"We're going to Eren's home." I answer shortly. He is rather pretty for a human, still...freckles lining his cheeks, skin that's just a shade lighter than Eren's. Round collarbones and muscled shoulders that I could sink my fangs into, tear mouthwatering bites from...ah. I can't. I think Eren would kill me, and besides...this human is a little too captivating, although I can't say whether that's a good thing. 

 

We reach the cave - naturally, it's full of glowing stones set in the walls, emitting soft pink and blue lights. I rest the human on a rock shelf, and he seems nervous, if a little more relaxed in the light and shelter of the cave. I glance at the cut on his forehead. Perhaps we should do something about that...Eren's better than I am at fixing injuries, though, so I'll wait for him. It's a tropical thing. 

 

I'm curious about this human, moving closer to rest in a 'sitting' position next to him. A black-scaled hand reaches his head, ebony claws tracing a soft line from his temple to below his ear and down his jaw. He shudders, looking at me with wide eyes. "I know you lied to him, but it's alright." I murmur, what could be called a frightening smile spreading over my features - although I've been told that my people have no other kind of smile. His heart is racing, I can hear it. "You're interesting."

 

He looks like he's about to drown, despite the fact that he can breathe now. "I...I didn't mean to..." I shake my head, stopping him before he can bluster out any more excuses. 

 

"Nah. Tropicals like him don't much understand secrets. They don't have much to keep secret." I allow myself to float away, coils swirling in a relaxed movement to propel me across the lit cave. "I can understand why you did it." 

 

I have no idea what Eren was talking about - I'm totally fucking cool. 

 

**

 

I have no idea what's going on. 

 

The human has been living with us for a few weeks now - Eren's kisses keep him breathing and from shriveling up like a human typically would, but this is a completely different kind of kiss. 

 

A brightly patterned tail is between human legs, and the two of them are trying to eat each others' faces against the wall. It's hot, don't get me wrong, but seeing my mate on someone else, a human, even...

 

"Eren?" I'm too shocked to try and be angry, more confused than anything else. There's a little flame of rage flickering in me, somewhere, but it's taking time to grow. He breaks free, Marco flushed and panting against the wall. Eren's green eyes are wide and worried, and when I start to swim back and away he darts toward me. Marco clings to the wall, watching us with alarm. 

 

I hadn't thought this would happen. With all of Marco's 'secrets', with his handsome face and charming innocence, it had never occurred to me that Eren would pick a human over me. Not that I really have much to offer him, I mean, I'm a dark murderer that lives in freezing waters, why wouldn't he choose the human with the soft soul? They're both warm and kind. They fit each other better than he could ever fit me- I told him this would happen, I told him...!

 

I'm staring uncomprehendingly at him, he's speaking to me and holding my arms with heated fingers. "Look, love, let me explain, we wanted to-" I feel a cool pressure roll down my cheeks, and he stops, leans back with stunned eyes. Black pearls hit the cave floor, quiet thuds muted by the water around us. 

 

The reason why my people are so stiff, so emotionless. Pearls. Am I crying? Surely not. 

 

The idea is like gasoline, sparking up that little flame of anger until it's bursting out of me. I rear back, pulling my arms roughly from his grip, shining pearls still falling down my cheeks. Marco is staring, and I feel an odd mix of emotions towards him that I decide to classify as hate. 

 

I let out an unearthly scream, jaw opening wider than even most mercreatures. Frozen waters, frozen hearts - we're supposed to be the cruelest mercreatures, the ones that kill humans and even our own kind. We aren't supposed to get attached, to find tropical mates, and we certainly aren't supposed to live peacefully with humans. I'll kill him. I'll strip his flesh from his bones and cloud the water with his blood. 

 

Eren sees what will happen and reaches to stop me, but tropicals aren't built for fighting - they're meant for lounging and sunbathing, using wide, colorful tails to float on warm swells and among coral reefs. I'm at Marco before he can try to swim with his useless human limbs, a flare of webbed spines like a cape flaring up behind my head. He has a look of terror on his face that I haven't seen in a while - I haven't hunted a human for a few months - and it's delicious. My claws are around his torso, leaving red marks along his ribs as I'm dragged back. An arm is around my neck, and I'd rip it off, but I know who it belongs to. 

 

I whip around, snarling. "Why do you care? Why do you always care about these damned humans?! Let me kill him!" Even as I say the words, a small voice, quiet and venomous in the back of my head asks if I can. I could have killed him just moments ago. Ripped out his throat before Eren had time to stop me. I know I could have. 

 

Eren is angry now, fire in his eyes. I always thought it was unusual for a tropical, but still beautiful. "Because we wanted it to be the three of us!" 

 

What? What does he mean by that? My brain goes still. The voice in the back of my skull is laughing, louder by the second. "Three...?" I'm floating in bewilderment as he moves to tend to Marco. I vaguely hear them talking. 

 

"It's alright, they're just scratches." Marco murmurs, and he whispers - as though I wouldn't be able to hear - "I don't think he wanted to hurt me." 

 

Three of us. A human and two mercreatures - one of them a frozen, at that. Wouldn't that just be hilarious. 

 

I turn around, and I look a little more normal now, spines folded down and jaw at the correct angle. The wounds are indeed scratches, not even bleeding anymore. I tilt my head, mumbling, "Three of us? So I..." Wait a moment. That means Marco's interested in me, as well as Eren. Who would've guessed. 

 

Eren scowls at me. "Yes, I was trying to tell you, before you pitched a fit and nearly murdered our new boyfriend. I know you won't say no, you think he's just as cute as I do." I try to talk, and then shake my head. 

 

"N...No. You're right, I...but why?" I ask, utterly confused. What appeal do I offer to a human? I'm not even the most attractive by mercreatures' standards. Marco shrugs, and I try not to laugh despite myself. Casual, isn't he?

 

"You don't seem as bad as you try to act? And I've seen you when you think I'm not looking. You're...sweet, I guess." He seems awkward, flushing red like humans and tropicals do. We express emotion a little differently, if at all. 

 

This situation is so different than I thought it was. Eren sighs. "So? You're in, right? You look like you're about to faint, as it is. And I am sorry - we should have told you before we...you know." 

 

I'm allowed to find that hot now. I'm allowed to have both this beautiful tropical and endearing human, together. 

 

"Yes, I'm...yes." Holy shit.


	2. The One Where the Mermen Do the Dude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poooooorn. Badly written porn at that - wrap it in a bow and send it off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first porn I ever publish on ao3 and it's weird merman dicks.

I don't really know much about merman anatomy, but I think that's going to change very soon. 

There are two tails pressed against me, one long and serpentine wrapping around my leg, from the top of my thigh to my ankle. It's a little too close to home, and I shudder. 

Sharp fangs slide over my neck, the threat soft and hidden behind quiet moans. I've been able to breathe underwater for awhile now, but I swear I feel like I'm drowning. 

The two of them are so different. Eren's hot and insistent against my side, mouthing kisses that are an entirely different kind of wet to my jaw, molding warm lips to mine. Jean, surprisingly enough, is a little more gentle, hesitant almost - as though he's afraid he'll scare me away. His hands are cool and soft as they slide over my stomach, a tongue that's just a little rough - like a cat's, almost - making trails under my ear and at the corner of my lips. 

I try to reciprocate as best I can, but like always, I'm thoroughly outmatched by the both of these mythical creatures. I'm pressed into what I suppose is the merman version of a bed, kelp covered by a smooth, gossamer fabric that Eren says his family's passed down - sea silk, or something like that. I get the feeling Jean is nocturnal back in his own waters, because I'll wake up at night and see his eyes glowing, and it's rare that he sleeps in the bed. 

Something slick and solid, something that was most definitely not there a moment ago, pushes into my thigh, and my eyes flicker down. Jean's crown of spines is fluttering up, something I've come to realize means he's embarrassed - and I'm fairly sure that's a merman's cock rubbing against me. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it - it's certainly not human, long and dark and frighteningly large. It almost looks like a tentacle, especially since it moves like a dick shouldn't really be able to move. But when he ruts against me, lets out a soft whimper into the crook of my neck, my own dick decides that it very much likes this situation regardless. 

Eren bites with a little more vigor into my collarbone, his own canines a little more pronounced than a human's - not the same rows of needle-teeth like Jean, but two large fangs that scrape over my skin deliciously. He rocks into me, and I'm not all surprised to feel another cock sliding over my hip. I don't have time to see what this one looks at, distracted by burning green eyes and dark skin and lips that are suddenly attacking my own. 

It takes a few seconds before I push lightly on both of their chests, gasping for air. "W...Wait. We have to...we have to work this out. Before we do anything else, I mean." Finding my words is a little difficult. Eren tilts his head. 

"Work it out? Don't humans...y'know, have sex?" He's flushed, a little distracted, and I'm not gonna lie - it's both the sexiest thing I've ever seen, and the most terrifying. Merman libido is probably way different from mine.

Jean shakes his head - he seems to know more about human anatomy than Eren, and I decided awhile ago not to think about where his knowledge came from. "Not like we can. The differences in female and male humans are...much more pronounced." He pauses. "How do you want to do it?" It's funny, considering their natures, you'd expect Eren to be the more attentive one, but Jean is almost timid with making sure I enjoy the experience. Eren's closer to the careless, feral side, which is fantastic and hot, but also a little scary, considering his ignorance about the human body. 

"Um...I can...I don't know if you guys call it the same thing. I can do it either way." I'm not sure if that was a proper explanation, but Jean nods and seems to understand. 

"I'll take care of that part, then." Our silent exchange, between words, seems to get Eren a little riled up. He scowls at Jean. 

"I could do it!" He exclaims, but before I know it we're continuing, Jean sliding around to slip my underwear - the only things I've managed to keep of my clothing, underwater this long - down my hips. I see Eren give a curious glance at my cock, allowed just an instant to feel self-conscious before Jean wraps a cool hand traced with smooth scales around me. I've been worked up so much without any touching, the contact is enough to make me moan and jut my hips up. I can't see Jean's face, but Eren's eyes darken, and he applies himself again to my neck and chest. 

Jean's hand is slick with something, I'm too distracted to wonder what, when he presses a finger against and into me with slow, soft motions. I inhale sharply, the thought of those claws flashing in my brain for a moment, the razor edges tracing over my skin. But Jean seems to have done this before, no pain accompanying his gentle movements. 

While I'm being stretched out, Eren moves lower, eyes glazed over and cheeks red. His wolfish smile sends shudders up my spine, reaching up to move Jean's hand aside and slide his own fingers up the side of my cock. Without warning, he wraps his lips around it, tongue pressing into the slit in a way that makes me jerk with a strangled sound. It's a sharp pleasure that makes me tighten around Jean's fingers, the combined sensations sending me far too close to the edge. 

Eren continues to slowly lick up my cock, occasionally lowering a hot throat down, sucking and swallowing and making me keen, legs stretching and toes curling. Then, he does something that catches me a little my surprise - he turns and angles himself so his hips are next to mine, breaking away from my cock to mumble with swollen lips, "Can you...can you do mine too?" 

I shiver, and nod after a small pause. Slowly, I reach down and take hold of his dick - it's a little more human looking than Jean's, at least in that it doesn't seem to be moving on its own, and it's pulsing with warmth. When my fingers wrap around him, he moans, the vibrations running up me and causing me to let out a matching whine. I hear Jean curse behind me, his fingers speeding up a little in their process. 

Eren and I are both growing a little clumsy, and when Jean pulls out of me I shiver in anticipation. His lips are just behind my ear, murmuring, "Marco, I'm gonna...tell me if you want me to stop." His voice is strained, and as he speaks something surprisingly warm prods against me. 

This is completely new. I can't decide if it feels like a real dick or not, but it's definitely there - big and stretching me out, and Jean halts when he's - I'm assuming - all the way in. It's a little painful, but somehow he manages to maneuver more smoothly than a human of his size. Whatever it is, it begins to feel really fucking good as he moves, whimpering into my ear. Eren - who I didn't realize had paused - resumes sucking my cock with vigor, thrusting his hips up into my hand. 

This may just be the weirdest, hottest thing that has ever happened to me. Soon, Jean is thrusting deeply into me, sparks of pleasure in the pit of my stomach, and I think we're all close. Eren is the first to come - he gasps and presses his own hand to mine, convulsing as bright blue streaks of color appear up his tail. Jean follows just half a second later, jerking and moaning and biting with a sharp sting into my shoulder. The sight and the small, sharp pain is enough to send me over, clutching at whatever I can grab as my hips jerk indecisively, unsure whether to buck forward into Eren's warm mouth or back into Jean's fluttering thrusts. 

We fall into a half-floating pile on the bed, warm and cold skin surrounding me as they both wrap their arms around me - Eren around my shoulders and head, my cheek pressing into his torso, and Jean around my waist, his whole body - including a tail that's again curling over my legs; I'm thinking it's a sign of affection - up against me. 

I'm content to fall asleep like that, sandwiched between the two of them - Eren's snoring within a minute, and Jean murmurs, "You can sleep too, you know." I give a soft noise of acknowledgement, and soon, I've drifted off as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can't decide how to end the sex scene? Just have them fall asleep!


	3. How Did You Two Meet, Anyway?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How Eren met Jean! I've had one from each of their perspectives, now. (Also some developments on Marco...what the fuck did he even do to get tied to a cinderblock and dropped in the ocean like some cheesy mob henchman)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the wonderful reception! Please comment if you have anything you'd like me to include, I'm happy to fulfill requests - for instance, the next chapter will very likely include Levi! (Not for sure. But probably, since someone mentioned they'd like to see what Levi is and I have some ideas on that.)

When I first saw him, I thought I was going to die. I'm a tropical, after all, and typically tropicals who get lost in frozen waters either 1. Freeze, or 2. Get eaten. I remember looking at my hands in the darkness, just barely able to tell how pale they were. I'm used to warm rays of sun filtering through clear waves, moonlight shining down through warm waters. 

Everything there was black. Dark and cold and enormous, so vast I was terrified to think of going any deeper. I could barely tell what was swimming around me, senses muddled and dull from the chill. That might be why it took a moment to realize something was attacking me. 

**

I've never seen a creature like this, long and covered in white scales that look half-rotten, dull and yellowish. It's another mercreature, I think, but it looks horrific, eyes wide and empty, teeth long and sticking haphazardly out of its mouth. It screeches, the sound piercing through the water to make my sluggish heart race in terror. It's narrow, the tail long and snakelike and writhing in circles to send it shooting through the water. My own tail, the end fin wide and fading into soft edges, doesn't move me nearly as quickly through the waters. Currents I'm not used to, similar to the one that took me this far from home, drag me all over the place, and there's little I can do about it. 

I'm somehow manage to get away, but I definitely don't do it unscathed. Teeth sink into my tail, into my side, like a hundred sword-sized needles. Claws rake over my back and over the delicate webs of my tail-fin, and my scream is muted in the endless darkness. The next thing I realize, there's sand under me, and the attacker is gone. I drag myself closer to the shore - it's dangerous, but even more dangerous is being in the ocean with that thing. 

Three feet becomes one becomes nothing, and I'm lying on packed-down sand, chest heaving and feeling far too heavy. My body is wracked with shivers, nonstop quaking as the cold air begins to frost the droplets on my skin. And then, the last thing I expect - a voice.

"You aren't supposed to be here." My eyes open with great difficulty, to see a face leaning over mine. They follow down a bare torso - so pale, but not rotten like the frozen I encountered - and reaching...legs? My terror starts up again when I realize I'm sitting by a human, trying to flounder back to the water, but he grips me under the arms and hoists me up with a strength humans shouldn't have. 

"L-L-Let...me g-go...!" I chatter out, and I almost bite my own tongue off in the process. I'm longing more and more for the blanketing warmth of my own waters. All I get is a laugh from a mouth that's too close to my ear. 

"Chill out, tropical. I'm not a human." The man says, and as he walks into the water, pulling me along, it takes me far too long to understand. Tropical? How does he knows the different peoples? How- no. Oh, Triton, no, he's one of them, he's a frozen, I'm gonna die...! "I said to calm down." He cuts into my panic with a sharp tone, even as his legs mold into one long, smoothly-scaled tail. His arms shift around me, carrying me more securely and gaining covers of black. Fingers grow claws and his eyes take on an unnatural glow that make me give out a soft whine before I realize it. A frozen. They eat humans, they eat their own damn kind, and I escaped one only to walk right into another. 

I'm trying to stay conscious, but the cold water I'm submerged in is beginning to be too much, combined with the stress and fear and exhaustion. I claw at his scaled arms and chest, once, twice, and then go limp. The last thing I see are glowing, predatory eyes, watching me with something I suppose could be called interest. 

**

Warm. I'm warm.

It takes a few seconds to understand where I am. Firstly, everything is dark, and I ache all over. I turn, try to orient myself, and reach out to try and grasp something, a rock, a cave wall - I can tell I'm in some kind of closed space, the darkness and motion of the water gives that away. Currents are repetitive in caverns. My hand recoils, however, when it comes into contact with freezing water, and I snatch it back into what I'm realizing is over a volcanic vent, warmth gushing up around me. 

"What's a tropical like you doing here, hm?" The voice startles me, and I whip around to face it. All I can see are two eerie golden eyes, and thousands of silver speckles that must line his tail. If I was in a poetic mood, I'd say they look like stars. 

"I got lost." I say, defensive and scowling. I can't see, and it feels like something's creeping up behind me. I fight the urge to whip around and check. "Are you going to eat me?" 

He laughs. "You're fucking joking. Lost? How lost can you even get?" He goes silent, and then after a moment, adds, "No. I don't think I will. Most tropicals would be pissing themselves right now, but you're not. Why?" He suddenly moves closer, his lit-up tail moving in graceful spirals to propel him towards me. The control frozens have over their movement is unsettling.

"I don't like being afraid." I answer; it sounds like bullshit, but it's the only way I can think to explain it. Being afraid won't change what happens. I tense when he comes close, and as he opens his mouth to speak I can catch just a glimpse of pearly white fangs in the light of his eyes - his are similar to the other frozen's, if a little more orderly. They're frightening, but not nearly as nightmarish. 

"I see you met another of my kind last night." He remarks, and I flinch when I feel cold scales brush against my back, his tail creeping around to encircle me in long coils. There's a slight sting where I was scratched, but it's more like the threat of pain, not the actual thing. "It's amazing you made it to the beach. What were you planning on after that?"

"Dying?" I croak. I don't like this at all. His eyes narrow slightly, withdrawing. 

"Well. You're pathetic, and I don't feel like dealing with a tropical right now, so I'll escort you to where the water changes. After that, I don't want to see you or any of your little tropical friends here again. Understood?" I blink. What? He's...letting me go? And helping me home, even. It's hard to believe, but the idea that he could be lying doesn't even occur to me - tropicals don't lie. What's the point?

"Thank...you?" He snorts, and a little noise of alarm escapes my throat when that long, cold tail wraps tightly around my waist. I'm not given any warning before I'm yanked out of my warm little tunnel of water and into the freezing surroundings. "Gah! You asshole, let me go!" I hiss at him, scrabbling at the scales around me. 

He just laughs and begins to swim, dragging me through the water. "Your tail is too wide to navigate these currents. You'll just get pulled along." I know he's right, but I'm still seething. 

"You could have at least told me, it's fucking freezing!"

"Yeah, yeah. Chill out, tropical, we'll have you back to your hot tub soon." I open my mouth to give a venomous retort, but fall flat. 

"What's a hot tub?" He stills for a moment, and I just barely hear him snort before he continues swimming. We're out of the cave, now, and I find myself gripping a little closer to his coils at the idea of being in open water again. That monster...the other frozen. It was so different than he is, so monstrous. Like it wasn't even a mercreature anymore. 

I'm unsure whether I should say anything, but it's rare that I actually know how to filter my words. "I saw another one of your kind before. The one that attacked me. It was...insane, like it was dying or something. Why was it like that?" 

He doesn't answer for a long moment, and I wonder if he heard me. When he speaks, I'm surprisingly relieved. "You're right, it was dying. That's what happens to us. Or at least most of us." 

I can't think of any way to respond to that. How could you live knowing that would happen to you someday? "That sounds horrible."

"Yeah." After that, we don't speak much. It's not even an hour before the waters begin to change, but we've been riding so many different currents I imagine this frozen knows the fastest way to everywhere. Soon, the waters are warm enough to be comfortable, and with amusement I realize that he's fidgeting, as though he's uncomfortable. We really are from two opposite worlds, aren't we? 

It's a little surprising when he lets me go, and I instinctively begin swimming. It's delightful to realize I can actually make headway in this water, and I head up, to see what it's like on the surface. When my head breaks through, I see the sun rising over the edge of the waters, the light already making me feel more comfortable. 

When I duck back under the water, it's a sharp surprise to see the frozen directly beside me, looking distasteful. "Follow this current. You'll be back in tropical waters by nightfall." He says, and turns to leave. 

"Wait!" He turns back, and those distrustful eyes are surprisingly less intimidating, in the light by the surface. Less predatory, and more...defensive. They're pretty. "What's your name? I'm Eren." 

He blinks, looking stunned. After a slight hesitation, he spits out a word so quickly I almost don't hear it. "Jean." With a whirl of bubbles, he dives down to lower waters, and I just have time to yell a goodbye. 

**

It's not a week later that I find a frozen skulking in the back of my cave, curled around a spiraled column of rock. He's sleeping, it looks like, but once I enter the cave his eyes open and focus on me. I raise an eyebrow, snorting and trying to hide the fact that he'd scared the shit out of me. "Hi?" 

He uncoils himself, drifting over to me. He's a little too quick in these waters, movements jerky and almost spastic. Like he's uncomfortable. "Hi." 

After that, we began talking, and after a few days he left to his own home, not giving me any warning that he'd be gone. When he returned two weeks later, I knocked him over the head, exclaiming how worried I'd been about his disappearance. After that, he started leaving little 'notes'. An oddly colored rock on my bed, or a bright sea flower tied to the column that he coiled around to sleep. We had a system. 

I was the first one to kiss him - after a few years with this frozen, I'd learned he's surprisingly insecure. He rarely initiates contact, but seems to love being touched, even if it's something small like running my hands through his hair or smoothing them over his scales. So naturally, he wouldn't dare to kiss me, even though he was terrible at hiding his emotions. 

So, things fell into their natural order. We've been mated for a few years now, and we've worked out a system. Every half a year, we'll switch territories - he'll spend winters here, and I'll spend summers there. He found a nice little cove filled with those warm vents of water, where I stay bundled up, letting him bring me seaweed nets full of fish. And he'll stay in the low rocks of my home, the deepest waters that are cool and dark, returning to my cave at night to rest curled around me or his column. We fit together well, even if we argue a lot. It's never anything more than superficial issues, anyway. 

A loud splash, something heavy being dropped into our waters, catches my attention. My gaze flickers up, and I see a human falling unusually quickly into the ocean. A human? 

I swim over, curious and concerned - humans tend to float, but he's sinking at an alarming rate - and by the time I reach him, he's almost to the floor. I see now that there's something wrapped around his ankle, following it to a large block of stone. Something tied to him to make him sink?

I bite on the rope and tug, sharp incisors slicing through it in a few seconds. I wrap my arms around the human, panicking even more when I see the large gash on his forehead. What do I do? 

I'm already swimming for him before I realize it, forgetting too easily that humans can't breathe underwater. The boy is unconscious, I need help, and Jean knows about humans, right? After all, he turns into one - and eats them, but that's a different matter - so he should know how to help one. 

It only takes a few seconds to find him, half-napping under a little crevice of rock, and I see his eyes open just as I reach him. "What is that?"

I'm frantic. "I found it sinking, at the surface! What do I do? I can't take it back to shore, the other humans will see m-!" I break off when the human wakes up, clawing with short nails at my arms and shuddering unnaturally. A huge stream of bubbles is coming from his mouth, and I'm distracted by his almost violent struggles. 

"Eren." My eyes snap up to Jean, who looks mildly amused. Asshole. "He's drowning." My eyes widen with the realization, and I grip the back of the human's head to hold him still. Just long enough for me to reach down, and press my lips to his own - his motions stop. 

I realize that this human has very pretty eyes.


	4. Wild Ones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi, Hanji, and Erwin!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new species of mercreature has been introduced, the so-called wild card! Also, since this story mainly focuses on Eren, Jean, and Marco, this chapter is short - it's mostly a guest appearance. I wasn't sure what to make Levi, but I knew I wanted something different, so this is what I came up with. I'd debated making him a sea snake, but I thought he'd be too similar physically to Jean, so I stuck with my first idea. Depending on how things turn out, I might have the two groups meet each other...not sure. Anyway, I hope you guys like this one!

"This is the last thing, I promise!" I give a quiet grunt of assent, but I know Hanji - if she says one more thing, she means ten. The scientist is still as excited about mercreature physiology as the day she met me, and it's been awhile. 

I want to flinch when she pokes a needle in my arm, but I resist the urge. Blood - my blood is almost-clear, tinted red, and her reaction when she first saw it was almost funny - flows through a thin cylinder of plastic, and as the tubes she's holding fills she trades them out until she has five. 

I'm sitting on a boat, submerged in a little plastic pool to keep from drying out. My other half - a stingray, gills still as I breathe with my human lungs, sides fluttering softly - always feels too heavy up here, but I don't mind it all that much. Hanji presses a quick kiss to my cheek, and I smile softly when she calls out a quick "Thanks, babe!" on her way to the miniature lab she's set up. 

The boat tilts, and a laugh sounds next to my ear. "More experiments, I see. Don't you know enough about us, Hanji?" She shakes her head. 

"Always more to learn, Erwin, always more to learn." I glance at him from where I sit. The half-orca really is huge, and it's odd to think I'm the same kind of creature as him; wild mercreatures are what you could call a wild card. We could be any type of animal - a little crazy, yes, but it always works out. Most of the time bloodlines are followed; Erwin's parents were killer whales, and mine, I'm assuming, were stingrays. Even so, odd things happen sometimes, and there's no way of predicting our appearances like other mercreature species. 

He pulls his hands up to cross his arms on the railing, resting his chin on them, and the boat tilts over even more. Hanji somehow remains exactly the same, even when she's handling liquids, and water spills out of my pool. I reach over to smack his hand. "Erwin, stop, you're going to capsize us." He at me grins with sharpened teeth, chuckling. Asshole.

"Always so dramatic, Levi." Regardless, he lowers his arms again, and I hear a loud crashing sound when he falls back. When I peer over the side again, he's on his back in the water, floating. Hm. Not a bad view, really. The boat settles back down, rocking a few times with the waves he made, and I sigh. The pool is now almost empty, and the dry air is harsh against the more sensitive skin of my animal half. 

"Hanji, I know you're wanting to do some more stuff, but I think I've gotta get back in the water." I call to her, and she nods, although there's a slight pout on her face. She pulls off the gloves she's been wearing, and I tilt my head up for the expected kiss she gives me. After how long the three of us have been together, this is routine. Erwin could probably help more, but I don't like him holding me when I'm out of the water - it's too far out of my control. When we were younger he'd get offended, but by now he understands. 

"See you in a few days?" She asks, slipping her arms under me, and I nod. I still don't understand how Hanji is this strong, for a human - I'm not the biggest mercreature, but we're fairly large. Even so, it never seems to affect her, and she lifts me without a problem. 

"Of course. Love you." When she holds her arms over the boat - it's only a five foot drop - I slip through her hold, falling into the water with a relieving burst of coolness. Erwin managed to disappear in the few seconds he was out of sight, but I'm not surprised when he emerges beside me. He lifts up enough to kiss Hanji on the side, and she laughs with a return kiss to his nose. 

"Love you too, Levi. And the same for you, you big goof." It's hard not to smile - they're cute. 

As Hanji's boat heads away, I duck under the water. Erwin swims leisurely beside me, mostly letting himself float. "We're an odd group, aren't we?" 

I shrug, letting out a quiet huff of amusement. "I'm sure we're not the only one."


End file.
